from a to z

a- is for the apple pie i was craving last night at 8:30, which prompted a 16 mile round trip to buy one (an apple pie, that is) and a gallon of bryer's extra smooth vanilla ice cream. yum.

b- is for blogging, which i'm finding difficult to do lately. it's a time thing...there's simply not enough of it...

c- is for the columbus dispatch crossword puzzle which i will be doing when i finish this blog.

d- is for the darvocet (4 darvocet, to be exact) that one of my students ingested before coming to school last monday. i didn't ask him IF he took anything, i asked him bluntly WHAT he took, and he told me the truth. he wound up in a hospital later heaving up charcoal (used to induce vomiting) and the darvocet.

e- is the for the eighth grade promotion dance that i will be chaperoning this friday. "e" is also for the electric slide which i WILL do at said dance, much to the chagrin of my 8th grade niece, taylor. :) heehee...

f- is for fast-pitch softball, which kate is playing. she's learning how to pitch...and we're gonna need ALOT Of practice. :)

g- is for "grey's anatomy". it's back. 'nuf said.

h- is for happy bunny. while some of his stuff is too edgy and sassy, his other sayings crack me up.

i- is for ian, who knows he's a charming looker, and uses that to his advantage.

j- is for "juno", which i watched over the weekend. great, quirky script.

k- is for kate, my bonny red-head, and also my date for the 8th grade dance.

l- is for "lars and the real girl", which is next on my dvd rental wish list.

m- is for mowing the lawn, one of my favorite things to do in the whole world...but man, with the price of gas, it's going to be an expensive pleasure! (phyllis, i haven't forgotten about you, by the way ~ i will mow this week, i promise!)

n- is for new balance tennis shoes. when leo saw my comfy orange and white "dogs" a few weeks ago, and noticed the "N" on the side, he asked me: "since when do you wear ZIPS? i didn't even know they still made those!" uh, turn the "Z"over there babe...it's an "N".

o- is for the ohio achievement tests, which my students are taking (two weeks late) starting tomorrow. it's a long story, so here's the short version: the ODE screwed up. royally. click here to read the long version.

p- is for my favorite perfume which i just ran out of...dolly girl by anna sui. julie got me hooked on it. (i gots to get me to a victoria's secret, asap!)

q- is for the quintessential stupidity of NCLB (no child left behind), which is ridiculously obvious during OAT week. my students are mandated by law to have an IEP, an INDIVIDUALIZED education plan. the law says, you have to provide special services for these kids who have learning disabilities...these kids who are DIFFERENT. but THEN the government says you have to test them all the same way ~"one size fits all". can you spell C-O-N-T-R-A-D-I-C-T-I-O-N? governor strickland, if you're reading this, i officially invite you to have a cup of coffee with me sometime...we need to talk.

r- is for the reds (cincinnati, you know, baseball) who are in a terrible skid right now. :( time to go buy some talent, boys.

s- is for snoopy, who is all over my classroom...comic strips of snoopy, greeting cards with snoopy, my snoopy mouse pad, snoopy computer wallpaper, snoopy posters, snoopy name plate outside my door. snoopy is sly, smart, and sarcastically lovable.

t- is for teacher appreciation week, which is may 5 - 9. my favorite teachers in school were mr. robert "gene" lewis (7th and 8th grade science), mrs. zoa craumer (algebra I, II, and trig), and mr. richard craumer (chemistry and physics). maybe i'll be on someone's list of favorites someday...

u- is for underwear. i need new underwear. i'll buy it when i pick up more perfume at victoria's secret. (see "p" above)

v- is for my new vera bradley purse. :) yay! raspberry fizz pattern. libby style. right on!

w- is for the whippoorwill ian correctly identified calling in our woods last week

x- is for xm radio. how did i ever drive a car without it? my kids are now able to identify some great 80s songs. their current favorite: "should i stay or should i go?", by the clash.

y- is for yerramilli. smita yerramilli, a former student who sent me a graduation announcement this past friday. i have several sweeties graduating in a few weeks whom i will miss terribly. you can see the lovely smita by clicking here.

z- is for the unexpected zzzzz's i took this weekend. i napped. what's up with that?